Thursday, December 11, 2008

Senate Democrats Call On Blagojevich To Resign

In a letter signed by Democratic leaders Harry Reid (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA) and co-signed by 43 other members of the caucus, Senate Democrats asked Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to resign his office and to absolutely not appoint a successor to the Senate seat formerly held by President-elect Barack Obama.

Blagojevich has been charged with trying to make money and gain power by essentially selling Illinois' open Senate seat to the highest bidder.

"We write to insist that you step down as Governor of Illinois and under no circumstance make an appointment to fill the vacant Illinois Senate seat," said the letter from Senate Democrats. "In light of your arrest yesterday on alleged federal corruption charges related to that Senate seat, any appointment by you would raise serious questions."

The letter goes on to say that if Blagojevich defies their wishes and still appoints a successor to Obama, the Senate “would be forced to exercise our Constitutional authority … to determine whether such a person should be seated.”

(It is unclear whether the Senate has such absolute Constitutional authority and Nate Silver has a good discussion on that at FiveThirtyEight.com.)

Here's the text of the letter from Senate Democrats to Blagojevich:

December 10, 2008

Dear Governor Blagojevich:

We write to insist that you step down as Governor of Illinois and under no circumstance make an appointment to fill the vacant Illinois Senate seat. In light of your arrest yesterday on alleged federal corruption charges related to that Senate seat, any appointment by you would raise serious questions.

It is within the authority of the Illinois legislature to remove your power to make this appointment by providing for a special election. But a decision by you to resign or to step aside under Article V of the Illinois Constitution would be the most expeditious way for a new Senator to be chosen and seated in a manner that would earn the confidence of the people of Illinois and all Americans. We consider it imperative that a new senator be seated as soon as possible so that Illinois is fully represented in the Senate as the important work of the 111th Congress moves forward.

Please understand that should you decide to ignore the request of the Senate Democratic Caucus and make an appointment we would be forced to exercise our Constitutional authority under Article I, Section 5, to determine whether such a person should be seated.

We do not prejudge the outcome of the criminal charges against you or question your constitutional right to contest those charges. But for the good of the Senate and our nation, we implore you to refrain from making an appointment to the Senate.

Meanwhile, Obama has also called for Blagojevich to step down.

“The President-elect agrees with Lt. Governor Quinn and many others that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the Governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois,” spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

Gibbs simply said "yes" when asked if the President-elect believes the governor should resign.

Political writer Bob Geiger is the award-winning author of the Yellow Dog Blog and BobGeiger.com and specializes in coverage of the U.S. Senate. He won the 2005 Weblog Awards prize for Best New Blog and was a finalist in the Koufax Awards in 2005 for his column "I Know This Little Boy in New Orleans."

He is the coauthor of The Real McCain and his work has appeared in the San Francisco Examiner, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the New York Journal News. A contributing writer to The Huffington Post and Alternet, Bob also makes appearances to comment on Senate activity on many popular radio programs.